The Birth of Ponyland
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: my take on how the Rainbow of Light was created and how Ponyland came to be.
1. The Moochick Meet Claudius Nelson

The Birth of Ponyland

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know many of you have seen "Rescue at Midnight Castle" (aka "Firefly's Adventure"), and therefore, know that the Moochick gave Megan and the ponies the Rainbow of Light to defeat Tirac, but just exactly how did The Moochick end up with it? That's basically what this story is. Also, Enchantra, Claudius Nelson, Fleur-Di-Lis, Camille, and Tara are my characters, for those of you who might get confused._

Many a story had been told about Ponyland. Some were about little ponies themselves. Some were about legends and lore of Ponyland. There was even a legend about four golden horseshoes. But there has yet to be a story about how Ponyland and the Rainbow of Light came to be. This is that story.

It was a beautiful day. The Moochick was walking along a path, looking for a place to call home, and to practice his magic. He came from a long line of wizards, and he was always looking for an opportunity to practice his magic.

The Moochick walked along the path, looking at the lush, green hills of this land. Flowers were everywhere. Birds were singing, and the sky was blue. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Well, with the exception of a couple of the white, puffy kind, but other than that, it was a beautiful day. This land seemed to be the perfect place to make a home for himself. It was lush and beautiful, but a bit empty. That didn't matter to the Moochick. He liked it that way. He walked into a forest and found a patch of giant mushrooms.

"Ahhh," he sighed. "Now this is the perfect spot to settle. Yes indeed, indeed!"

The Moochick climbed up on a giant mushroom and looked around. Yes, this was the perfect spot for him to build his home. All he had to do now was figure out how to do it. As he was pondering it, he heard some rustling in the bushes. He jumped off the mushroom, and went to find out what it was. He pushed the bushes away and saw a young man with black hair, gathering mushrooms.

"The things I do just to get it right," he mumbled. He had a thick, southern drawl. He plucked another mushroom out of the ground, and then walked off. The Moochick followed him.

The young man stopped in front of a big, black bubbling cauldron, and dumped the mushrooms in. Then he opened a small box, and took a pinch of something out of it, and put it in the cauldron. Then he waved his hands over it, and chanted something under his breath. The Moochick couldn't make out what it was. The cauldron bubbled ferociously, and then died down a few minutes later. A bubble flew out of the cauldron and into the air. It popped, resulting in a little bluebird.

"Perfect," the young man said. He went over to his bag and pulled out a book, an inkwell, and a quill pen, and began writing something down. "I'll have this valley populated in no time."

"How do you plan to do that?" the Moochick asked. The young man turned his head and looked at the Moochick.

"The power of creation," the young man said. "You saw how I created that little bird."

"You can't create every single living creature here."

"Oh, I don't plan to. When I got here, this place was dark, dank, and dreary, so I figure I fix it up a little. And once I fix it up, people are gonna come on in and live here."

"Well, now, well now, well now. That's an interesting goal to strive for, young man."

"Whoa, buddy, watch who you're callin' young. I make you look like a spring chicken. I happen to be six hundred and fifty years old."

"You certainly don't look it."

"That's the thing with some wizards. Some of us grow older, but our bodies don't. And some of us age along with our bodies. But one thing's for sure. We all live forever. Besides, if I can get this place lookin' shipshape, they'll be creatures as far as the eye can see."

"How do you figure, Mr . . . . ."

"Nelson. Claudius Nelson. But I'm not a formal person, so you can call me Claudius. And I figure because you're here, Mr . . . . ."

"Moochick. They call me the Moochick. I was just following a path, when I happened across the green fields and hills."

"My point exactly."

The Moochick didn't respond. He just watched Claudius write in his book. Finally, he put the book away and turned to the Moochick.

"You thinkin' of settlin' here?" he asked.

"Yes, I believe so," the Moochick said. "I just need to find a way to make a home, you know."

"I'll give you a hand."

Claudius and the Moochick began to gather things to help the Moochick build a place to live. A lot of the work came from the magic wand Claudius pulled out of his bag. They created a cottage in the middle of the woods. Claudius took his book out of his bag, along with his pen and his inkwell. He began writing.

"What are you writing?" the Moochick asked.

"I always write up my latest magic tricks in my book," Claudius replied. "And I'm makin' a map. I call this place Dream Valley."

"Why do you call it that?"

"Because livin' here would be a dream."

"I see. What are you going to call the land on a whole?"

"I don't have the slightest idea. I'll come up with somethin' though. In the meantime, I think I'll call this place the Mushromp."

"Why the Mushromp?"

"Check it out, Mr. Moochick. You got all kinds of animals rompin' around the mushrooms. Mostly rabbits, though."

"Ah yes, I see, I see. Well, this will make a nice home."

Claudius nodded, and put his book away. Then he started to walk off. The Moochick followed him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm goin' to look for others," Claudius replied. "I mean, you and I can't be the only two people in this valley!"

Claudius was right about that. There was another person coming into the valley, but she wasn't coming to Dream Valley to live. She was coming to Dream Valley to destroy it. Her name was Enchantra, and she was a powerful sorceress, who dabbled in black magic, whereas Claudius dabbled in white magic, and used it for good, while Enchantra used her magic for evil. She came into Dream Valley, riding a giant, green lizard with wings. An entire fleet of them were behind her.

"Now Strattadons!" she shouted. "Destroy this valley!"

The Strattadons screeched, and began to tear away all the trees and plants and bushes.

"Oh no," Claudius groaned. "This is not good."

"What can we do?" the Moochick asked.

"There's only one thing, Mr. Moochick," Claudius said. He pulled up his magic wand. "I know how Enchantra works. We went to the same wizard's school together. She was always a bad apple."

Claudius waved his magic wand and a bright light flew out of it. Enchantra screamed and tried to shield her eyes.

"The light! The light!" she moaned.

If there was one thing about Enchantra, it was she couldn't stand bright light. She dwelled in Midnight Castle, which was past a dark forest Claudius had yet to explore. Enchantra hated the light, and anything the light brought, which was why she wanted to plunge the world into eternal darkness. She would start with Dream Valley, but Claudius always seemed to have the upper hand.

"Strattadons, retreat!" Enchantra shouted. "You haven't won yet, Nelson! One day, I will be victorious against you!"

"Eh, your mother rides a feather duster!" Claudius shouted, as Enchantra flew towards Midnight Castle with the Strattadons close behind her.

"Who was that?" the Moochick asked.

"Enchantra," Claudius practically growled. "She's about as powerful as I am, but only she uses her magic for evil and nothin' but. I've spent years fightin' with her, tryin' to keep her from destroyin' my valley, and from sendin' us all into darkness."

"I see."

"Come on, Mr. Moochick. Let's take a walk around Dream Valley so I can continue mappin' it out. Maybe we'll discover some others."

The Moochick nodded, and he and Claudius began walking around.


	2. FleurDeLis

Enchantra didn't take her defeat too well. She returned to Midnight Castle and sat down on her throne, right by her crystal ball. She ran her hands through her long black hair, sat down, and gazed into the ball. 

"I'll get you one day, Nelson," she said. "You always have to spoil my fun. That Dream Valley of yours will be dark, dank, and dreary once again. Once I plunge the world into eternal darkness, they'll be no stopping me!" 

Enchantra laughed. She continued watching Claudius and the Moochick walk around through her crystal. She stood up, and decided to send the Strattadons out for another attack. She wasn't going to go with them this time. She knew Claudius would probably send a bright light in her face, and she hated the light. 

Claudius and the Moochick were sitting by a stream. The Moochick was skipping stones across it, and Claudius was drawing the stream and the area around it on the map in his book. He wrote something about it as well on another page, when he stopped suddenly. He looked up, and closed his book. 

"Somethin's wrong," he said. "I can feel it." 

"How can you tell?" the Moochick asked. 

"I have this danger sensor in my right temple," Claudius said. "It begins to act up when trouble's afoot. Come on!" 

Claudius started to run off. The Moochick followed. They heard a loud whinny of a horse, and a screech of a Strattadon in the distance. The two wizards crawled through the bushes and came across a Strattadon chasing a blue unicorn with white hair, and a blue streak in her hair. She had a gold fleur-di-lis on her hips. Claudius stood there, a little shocked. 

"A unicorn," he said. "A real honest to goodness unicorn." 

"What's wrong?" the Moochick asked. "Haven't you ever seen a unicorn before?" 

"Only heard about 'em," Claudius said. "Never seen one in my life. Come on. We've got to help her!" 

Claudius held up his magic wand and gave the Strattadon a blast in the face. The Strattadon screeched and retreated back to Midnight Castle. 

"Get outta here, you overgrown hand bag!" Claudius yelled. "One thing I have to give Enchantra credit for. She don't give up easily." 

"Doesn't," the unicorn corrected. 

"What can I say?" Claudius said with a shrug. "I'm from the south. A lot of times, southerners are prone to be grammatically challenged." 

"Are you all right?" the Moochick asked. "Why was that beast chasing you?" 

"Because he's bigger than me," the unicorn said. "And I think he wanted my magic. Unicorns have magic in their horns, don't you know. Watch this! I wish, I wish, I _wish_!" 

Suddenly, the unicorn disappeared, and then reappeared an instant later right behind the Moochick. 

"How did you do that?" the Moochick asked. 

"It's called winking," the unicorn said. "All unicorns can wink in and out. All unicorns can do something else with their horns, too. But I don't know what it is I can do. Other than wink." 

"Are there more like you?" Claudius asked. 

"Oh sure! Hundreds of little ponies like me! Earthlings, Pegasi, unicorns, all kinds! But . . . . well . . . . ." 

"Well what?" 

"They've all disappeared. I don't know what happened to them all. I miss all my unicorn friends. I don't know where they could have gone." 

The unicorn heaved a sigh, and hung her head. Claudius and the Moochick looked at each other, and then turned to the unicorn. 

"We'll help you," Claudius said. "If we walk long enough, we're sure to find some more unicorns, and maybe some more little ponies." 

"Do you think so?" the unicorn asked. 

"Sure thing!" Claudius said. "By the way, my name's Claudius Nelson, and this is the Moochick. What might yours be?" 

"Fleur-Di-Lis," the unicorn said. "Because that's what I have on my flank. All of us little ponies have something on our flanks." 

"Well then, it shouldn't be too hard to find more of you. Come on." 

Claudius led the way down a path, and the Moochick and Fleur-Di-Lis followed. Hours passed, and the trio couldn't find hide, nor hair, of any more little ponies, much less a unicorn. Fleur-Di-Lis began to feel downtrodden. 

"I wish I knew where they all went," she sighed. 

"We'll find them," the Moochick said. "I'm sure of it. At least, I'm pretty sure of it." 

"You can't be the only unicorn left in the world, you know," Claudius said. 

"But sometimes, it feels like it," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "Sometimes, it feels as though I'm the last unicorn." 

"I see. Come on, let's keep goin'. And I don't honestly think you're the world's last unicorn. There should be some more around here somewhere." 

The trio walked on, until they heard a whinny. They stopped, and listened, and heard the whinny again. Fleur-Di-Lis reared, whinnied herself, and charged ahead. 

"Maybe it's another unicorn!" she shouted, happily. "Or maybe a Pegasus, or one of my little pony friends!" 

"Come on!" Claudius shouted. 

"Right behind you!" the Moochick shouted, and he started running off after Fleur-Di-Lis and Claudius. He didn't make more than two steps without tripping and falling flat on his face. He pulled himself up, and began running again. 

"Wait for me!" he shouted. 


	3. Tara and Camille

Fleur-Di-Lis followed the whinny to a farm. She saw a stable where there was a little brown pony with tan mane and tail inside. Fleur-Di-Lis's face fell. It wasn't one of her friends. It was just a plain, ordinary little pony. 

"This isn't one of the little ponies," she said, sadly. 

"How do you know?" Claudius asked. 

"He's brown," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "All of my friends are all sorts of different colors. And they can all talk, too." 

"I get it," Claudius said. "Well, don't feel too bad, Fleur-Di-Lis. I'm sure they'll be some other little ponies around here. Somewhere." 

"Yes indeed," the Moochick said. "You can't be the only little pony here. Yes, yes." 

Claudius looked at the Moochick oddly, and rolled his eyes. The pony in the stable nudged Claudius's shoulder, and the wizard began to stroke his nose. 

"He may not be one of your friends, Fleur-Di-Lis, but he's a friendly fella," Claudius commented. 

"Get your hands off my pony!" a voice shouted. 

Claudius, the Moochick, and Fleur-Di-Lis turned around and saw a young girl standing there. She had long, blonde hair in a ponytail. 

"We were just . . . ." Claudius said. 

The girl didn't let him finish. She charged at the trio, jumped into the air, and kicked Claudius right in the stomach. He fell to the ground, flat on his back. The girl then gave the Moochick a kick. Claudius regained his senses, picked up his magic wand, and raised it at the girl. She grabbed Claudius by the arm, and flipped him over her shoulder. 

"Wow!" Claudius shouted, dazed. He was impressed. This girl was half his size, and yet she managed to clobber him. 

"Get out of here you horse thieves!" she shouted. 

"They're not horse thieves!" Fleur-Di-Lis yelled, running between the girl and Claudius. "They're helping me find my friends!" 

"A talking pony!" the girl shouted, surprised. 

"Unicorn actually," Fleur-Di-Lis said. Then she smiled. "Do you like ponies?" 

"Yes," the girl said, nodding. "But I never thought I'd see a real unicorn in my life. I've had dreams about you. But I didn't know if you were real. Are you real?" 

"As real as you are." 

The girl reached her hand out slowly, and gently touched Fleur-Di-Lis's face, afraid that it really was a dream, and the unicorn would disappear if she touched her. Fleur-Di-Lis smiled at the girl. 

"Don't be afraid," she said. "I'm your friend." 

Claudius and the Moochick stood up and regained their senses. 

"What's your name?" Claudius asked. 

"Tara," the girl said. "And I'm sorry. I thought you were horse thieves." 

"No problem," Claudius said. "Although the other wizards ain't gonna believe I got my butt kicked by a little twelve-year-old girl!" 

"Hey, I may be little," Tara said. "But I'm strong, and I can fight!" 

"Will you help us find my friends?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked. 

"Sure I will," Tara said. "Let's go!" 

The foursome walked off into the woods. Claudius took out his book, and made a couple of notes in it. He felt his danger sensors begin to flare up again, but he didn't say anything just yet. He wanted to be entirely sure there was big trouble ahead. 

The group walked along the path, until they came to another valley. It was as lush and green as Dream Valley, but something was very different about it. Claudius couldn't put his finger on what it was. 

"Think we should turn back?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked. 

"No way!" Tara shouted. "If we want to find the other ponies, we've got to keep moving!" 

Tara charged ahead, leaving the Moochick, Claudius, and Fleur-Di-Lis starting after her, but only for a few minutes. Claudius shrugged, and walked on. 

"The gal's got guts," he said. "I'll give her that." 

Fleur-Di-Lis and the Moochick nodded, and followed. When the foursome reached the edge of a clearing, they came across a small village. 

"What in the world?" Claudius asked as he looked at the inhabitants. 

"Duck!" Tara shouted. 

Promptly the Moochick dropped to the ground and covered his head with his arms. 

"No, the other kind of duck!" Tara shouted, a bit exasperated. 

"Oh," the Moochick said, picking himself back up. "I knew that, yes, yes." 

Tara, Claudius, and Fleur-Di-Lis rolled their eyes and groaned. Quite obviously, they knew the Moochick didn't know what Tara had meant. In any case, there, walking in the village were ducks. But they weren't like any other duck the group had ever seen before. They were tall, wore clothes, and looked like humans, only with the heads of ducks. 

"I wonder where we are," Fleur-Di-Lis said. 

"Duckington," one duck said, coming over. Fleur-Di-Lis screamed, and hid behind Claudius. 

"What's the matter with her?" the duck asked. "She acts like she's never seen a duck before." 

"Not a six foot duck that talks," Claudius said. "I have to admit, I've never seen one, either." 

The duck shrugged, and walked off. Another one came directly up to them. She had pale blue "feathers," dark blue hair in a ponytail, wore a long green dress, and a red, heart-shaped locket around her neck. 

"Permit me to introduce myself," she said. "I am Lady Camille, the ruler of Duckington." 

"Nice to meet you," Claudius said. "I'm Claudius Nelson, and these are the Moochick, Tara, and Fleur-Di-Lis." 

"We're looking for my pony friends," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "Especially the unicorns. Have you seen them?" 

"I'm afraid I haven't," Camille said. 

"But I have!" a voice from the skies said. The group looked up and saw non other than Enchantra flying one of her Strattadons towards Duckington. 

"They all belong to me now!" she shouted. "And soon, you will too, little pony!" 

Enchantra let a ball of magic build in her hand, and then threw it at Fleur-Di-Lis. The blue unicorn dodged it before it could hit her. 

"What do you want a bunch of unicorns for anyway?" Camille asked. 

"They're the only ones who can destroy my power!" Enchantra shouted. "And I can't let them do that!" 

"But what about all my other little pony friends?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked. 

"All the pretty little ponies are mine!" Enchantra cackled. "Soon, I'll have every last pony in the land!" 

"Not if I can help it, sister," Claudius said. He thrust his arm out and blasted Enchantra's Strattadon. He turned it into a tiny salamander, right in mid air. Enchantra crashed to the ground. 

"Oooohhhh, I'll get you for that, Claudius!" she shouted. "So help me . . . . ." 

"That's nothin' but rubbish, Enchantra," Claudius said. "You can't do anythin' to me. You have no power here. Now be gone, before someone drops a house on you or somethin'." 

"Very well," Enchantra said, and she started off to Midnight Castle. "I'll bide my time, Claudius! But I swear, I'll be back for you. And the unicorn. I'll get you my pretty! And you're little friends, too!" 

Enchantra cackled like a witch, waved her hand, and disappeared into thin air. The others watched her go. Claudius groaned and shook her head. 

"I hate her," he said. 

"We've got to save my pony friends!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted. 

"But how are we going to do that?" Tara asked. 

"We need to infiltrate Midnight Castle," Camille said. "Then we find a way to sneak in, and find the source of her power." 

"Good thinkin'," Claudius said. "Come on, everybody. We're on a mission!" 


	4. The Death of Claudius Nelson

Tara, Fleur-Di-Lis, Camille, and the Moochick followed Claudius down the path that led to Midnight Castle. No one knew it at the time, but Enchantra had them right where she wanted them.

The foursome walked up to the dark, black, castle at the edge of the land. The castle was surrounded by a large moat.

"So how are we gonna cross that?" Tara asked.

"That's easy," Claudius said. "Watch this."

Claudius held up his magic wand and gave it a wave. A blue ribbon of light shot out of it, and gathered itself around the groups' feet. It lifted them into the air, across the moat, and over to the castle. It flew them to the top of a tower, and dropped them off.

"This way," Claudius said. He opened a door, and led the others down the stairs.

"I hope you know where we're going," Fleur-Di-Lis said.

"I would if we could get some light," Claudius said. "Unicorns are known to light up their horns, you know."

"Yeah, Fleur-Di-Lis, give us some light," Tara said.

"I don't know," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "I never know what's going to happen when I light up my horn."

Fleur-Di-Lis closed her eyes and bent her head. She lit up her horn, and the strangest thing happened. A bright blue light shot out of it and began bouncing against the walls of the hallway. The group had to duck to avoid getting hit!

"What in the world is that?!" Camille shouted.

"My word!" the Moochick shouted.

"How do you stop it?!" Tara yelled.

"I'll handle it!" Claudius shouted. He held his wand high in the air. "Alakazam!"

The blue ribbon of light flew directly to the crystal ball on Claudius's wand and it was sucked in. Fleur-Di-Lis blushed scarlet, and dimmed her horn.

"Oh Claudius! Everybody, I'm so sorry!" she shouted. "I didn't know that was going to happen!"

"If that's one unicorn's magic, I hate to see what would happen if a whole herd of them got their horns together!" Camille commented.

"Never mind that now," Tara said. "Come on!"

To avoid any other ribbons of bright light, Claudius lit up the crystal ball on his wand. They were lucky Enchantra hadn't seen them! In any case, they arrived at the throne room, but didn't go inside. Claudius and Fleur-Di-Lis pressed their ears against the door and heard mad cackling inside.

"Soon, the world will be mine forever!" she shouted. "Eternal darkness will cover the land, and I will reign as queen. And there's nothing Claudius Nelson and his friends can to do stop it. There's no defeating the Rainbow of Darkness!"

Claudius immediately backed away from the door and got a sick look to his face. Fleur-Di-Lis stared at him, worriedly.

"Claudius?" she asked.

"Oh dear lord, not the Rainbow of Darkness!" Claudius shouted.

"What's wrong with the Rainbow of Darkness?" Camille asked.

"If Enchantra unleashes that thing, we'll be stumblin' around in the dark for all eternity," Claudius said. "She hates the light."

"Oh my," the Moochick said. "Then we must get it away from her. Yes, yes."

"But how?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked.

"We'll break down the door to the throne room and swipe it!" Tara shouted.

"We can't do that!" Camille retorted. "You can't just rush into things without a plan of attack!"

"What's so hard about going in there and grabbing it?"

"The fact that she can slice us to ribbons? We have to be cunning about this. She'll probably be expecting us charging in there. We need a better plan of attack. If you'll just give me a moment, I should be able to come up with one."

"This is no time to think, this is a time for action!"

"Would you two keep it down?!" Claudius hissed. "She'll hear us!"

"Well, I can't help it if she's all talk and no action," Tara said. "I don't see how she can help us. Thinking of a plan will take too long!"

"I don't see how barging in on her will do anything, either," Camille said.

"Come on, knock it off, girls," Fleur-Di-Lis said, trying to restore order. "Camille's an asset to this team because she's got a brain. Tara's an asset because she's got brawn. We all have to work together."

"Right," Claudius said. "And we can't wait for a plan, Camille. We have to go in now."

Claudius was about to open the door, when it slowly creaked open.

"Everybody hide!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted, and everyone ducked out of sight. Fleur-Di-Lis winked out.

Enchantra walked out of her throne room, smiling to herself. She was thinking the world would be hers soon.

"Tomorrow night," she said. "At midnight, by the light of the full moon, I'll bring in the night that will never end! The world will be mine!"

And with that, Enchantra walked down the hall, cackling madly, leaving the door to the throne room open. Claudius watched her go, until she was out of sight. Then he ran into the throne room.

"Come on!" he shouted.

The others followed Claudius into the throne room, quickly and quietly as they could. They had to act fast, before Enchantra could come back. They came across a table, where a pouch sat. The pouch seemed to be pulsating, and a strong, heartbeat type sound was coming from it.

"What's that?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked.

"The Rainbow of Darkness," Claudius replied. "It's what gives Enchantra her power. Well, part of it, at least."

"What can she do with that thing?" Tara asked, picking up the pouch.

"Plenty," Claudius replied. "It's more powerful than it looks. Tara, put that thing down, you're makin' me nervous!"

Tara shrugged, and put the pouch down. Immediately, the Moochick picked it up and looked at it.

"My, my, it doesn't look like much to me," he said. "I'm inclined to agree with Tara. What could be inside that could cause such commotion?"

The Moochick started to open the pouch. The others got a nervous look on their faces.

"Mr. Moochick, no!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted.

"Stop!" Claudius yelled.

But it was too late. The Moochick opened the pouch, and a dark, purple streak came shooting out of the pouch. The group ran to avoid getting hit with it.

"What did you do?!" Camille yelled at the Moochick.

"Oh dear," the Moochick said. "Something tells me I shouldn't have done that. Hmm."

The Rainbow of Darkness flew back into the pouch, which was laying on the floor. The evil laughter of Enchantra was heard at the door of the throne room, and the group turned around to look. There she was, standing at the door, holding the Rainbow of Darkness.

"You fools," she said. "Do you honestly think you can defeat me?"

"Good always triumphs over evil!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted. "Don't you know that?!"

"Not this time, little pony," Enchantra said. "Soon, you will join all your unicorn friends."

Enchantra started to open the pouch, when a beam of light hit her right in the eyes. She screamed and dropped the pouch.

"I warned you, Enchantra," Claudius said. "I'm not about to let you plunge the world into eternal darkness."

"Light is so overrated," Enchantra said. She pointed her index finger at Claudius. "You've been asking for this a long time now, Claudius! And now you're gonna get it!"

Enchantra began blasting her magic out at Claudius. Claudius deflected most of it with his magic wand, and shot out his own magic at the sorceress. Magic was flying everywhere. The Moochick, Tara, Camille, and Fleur-Di-Lis ducked in every which way to avoid getting blasted with all the magic!

"Do something, Mr. Moochick!" Camille shouted.

"Well, ahh, I'll do my best," the Moochick said, rolling up his sleeves.

The Moochick aimed at the ground under Enchantra's feet, and wiggled his fingers. Suddenly, the entire castle began to shake, and everyone lost their balance and fell. But that didn't stop the castle from shaking!

"What did you do?!" Tara yelled.

"Oh dear," the Moochick said. "That didn't work out as well as I thought. No, no, it didn't!"

Enchantra tried to maintain her balance, but she ended up falling. She jerked her arm as she fell, and a piece of her magic shot out of her finger, blasting Claudius directly in the chest. Thrown off guard, Claudius fell. Finally, the castle stopped shaking. Realizing she had zapped Claudius, Enchantra stood up and smiled evilly.

"Time for this to end," she said. "Claudius Nelson, you may have lived for six hundred and fifty years as a wizard. But now, heh, heh, you're not going to live much longer."

Enchantra kicked Claudius's magic wand away, and hovered her hands over his back. Claudius's body began to glow in a dark purple light, and his magic left his body, turning him into a mortal.

"Now that the magic that was stored in your body is mine," Enchantra said, walking for the wand. "I have to destroy all the magic you ever had in the world!"

"You have to get the wand first!" Claudius shouted. He may have been down, but he wasn't out. He grabbed his magic wand, and threw it to Tara. She caught it, and ran with it. The others followed.

"Let's get out of here!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted.

The Moochick, Camille, and Claudius ran out of the castle as fast as they could. Enchantra let them go. She watched them leave, and smiled.

"They'll never defeat me now," she said. "Enjoy your last hours, Claudius. By midnight, I'll never have to worry about you again."

The quintet went back to the Mushromp, far, far away from Midnight Castle. They wanted to get away from that awful place as fast as they could.

"What do we do now?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked.

"I'm not sure," Claudius said, sitting down. "All I know is that I'm fully a mortal now, and there's not much I can do."

"But isn't there still magic in your wand?" Camille asked.

"Yes," Claudius said. Then he sighed. "But I'm not long for this world."

"What do you mean?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked.

"Mortals can't live over six hundred and fifty years," Claudius explained. "The magic that was in my body kept me alive all these years. Without it . . . . ."

Claudius didn't need to go on. The others got the point.

Late that night, Claudius could feel his strength deteriorating. The group was gathered at the Moochick's cottage, all standing around Claudius, who was laying almost lifelessly on the Moochick's bed.

"It won't be long now," he said, weakly, as he made some final notes in his book. He closed it, and handed it to the Moochick, along with his magic wand.

"Mr. Moochick, take great care in these," he said. "You can't let Enchantra get them. The wand contains all the magic I have left, and the book contains my secrets and spells. You must give them to someone deservin' the power they contain."

"How will I know who to give them to?" the Moochick asked.

"You will know," Claudius said. "Believe me, you'll know. I don't have much time. It's up to you four to stop Enchantra. You must find the other unicorns in order to do so."

"But Enchantra has them all," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "And besides, Claudius, we can't do this without you!"

"You have to," Claudius said. "You all play important parts here. The Moochick has his magic, Fleur-Di-Lis has her spirit, Tara has her strength, and Camille has her brain. The four of you must work together and overcome Enchantra. Have faith. The whole of Dream Valley is countin' on you."

"But Claudius . . . . " Fleur-Di-Lis started.

"Fleur-Di-Lis, you are the most important part of this mission," Claudius said. "You must use your unicorn powers to stop Enchantra, and free your friends."

"But I can't. I can't do anything except wink in and out. And that light I made . . . . . it's just useless blue ribbon!"

"You have to, Fleur-Di-Lis. You have to."

The wind began to blow just then. It came threw the window, and blew out the candle that was in the room. The Moochick's clock struck midnight. The cottage in the Mushromp was silent.

Claudius Mikhail Nelson was dead.


	5. Where Do Unicorns Go?

Early the next morning, Claudius was buried at the edge of the land, far, far away from the Valley. Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say.

"How are we going to fight Enchantra now?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked. "Claudius was the only one who could handle her."

"I hope you know magic, Mr. Moochick," Camille said.

"My dear, indeed, I do!" the Moochick shouted. "It just doesn't work half the time."

"A lot of good that'll do us," Tara said.

"Well, anyway," the Moochick said, ignoring Tara. "We need to find the unicorns."

"But how?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked. "We know Enchantra has them, but we don't know where she's hiding them!"

"That's what we'll have to find out," Tara said. She turned to Camille. "So tell us what to do. You're the one with the brain!"

"We'll have to be sneaky," Camille said. "Now offhand, I can't really think of how we're going to get in there."

"We can't do this without Claudius," Fleur-Di-Lis said.

"Yes, we can!" Tara shouted. "He wouldn't want us to sit here and give up! We've still got magic."

"Right," Camille said. "The Moochick has his magic, and you've got magic in your horn, Fleur-Di-Lis."

"All unicorns do," Tara said.

"But all I can do is wink in and out," Fleur-Di-Lis protested. "All unicorns can do that! And they can do something else with their horns. My mother could read people's minds. And my father could light up the darkest of night, and made it look like day. I don't know what I can do."

"You can make light, too," Camille said. "We all saw you."

"Right," Tara nodded. "You make a blue ribbon of light."

"Enchantra hates the light," the Moochick said. "That will be a good strategy."

"But what good will it do?!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted, stomping her foot. "Without Claudius, we'll never free the other unicorns! He's the one you need! Not me!"

"But Fleur-Di-Lis!" Camille shouted.

Fleur-Di-Lis wouldn't hear of it. She turned around and ran off. The girls were about to go after her, but the Moochick stopped her.

"She needs time," he said. "She'll come back. I know it. And when she does, we'll be ready to go to Midnight Castle."

"How do you know?" Tara asked.

"Trust me," the Moochick said. "I know the mind of a little pony. Yes, indeed. Yes."

Tara and Camille glanced at each other. They weren't exactly sure if they understood what the Moochick meant.

Fleur-Di-Lis sat by a riverbank, crying into her hooves. She didn't want to fight Enchantra. She didn't know what kind of powers she possessed. She didn't know if she could use them. Most of all, she didn't know of she could do it without Claudius. Claudius always seemed to have the answers. What was she going to do now that he was gone.

"I can't do it!" she wailed. "I can't do it, I can't do it!"

"Of course you can do it, girl!" a voice shouted. "I didn't raise a quitter!"

Fleur-Di-Lis sniffled, and looked up into the sky.

"Papa?" she asked, in disbelief. "But . . . . but you've been dead for years."

"Fleur-Di-Lis," the midnight blue unicorn said. "The land of your birth is in danger from being plunged into darkness. You must stop feeling sorry for yourself, and find your courage. You must try your horn again. You must find your power."

"But Papa, I don't know how!"

"You'll figure it out. You're a smart girl. I have complete faith in you."

The image of Fleur-Di-Lis's father faded away just then. Fleur-Di-Lis stood up, and looked at her reflection in the water. Then she began to think of what her father said. And what Claudius said. It was all up to her, and she couldn't let her friends down.

Fleur-Di-Lis ran back to the others. They looked at her for a moment, and stood up, waiting to see what she was going to do. She looked at Camille and Tara, and smiled at them.

"Let's go," she said.

Camille and Tara smiled, and hugged Fleur-Di-Lis around her neck. The Moochick cleared his throat, and began walking.

"Come on," he said. "It's quite a long walk to Midnight Castle."

Fleur-Di-Lis, Tara, and Camille followed the Moochick down the path. They had to make it to Midnight Castle before midnight. If Enchantra wasn't stopped before then, the entire world would be dark, dank, and dreary forever.

Midnight Castle looked even darker and scarier than it did the last time the foursome was there. Fleur-Di-Lis thought that it seemed scarier because Claudius wasn't there. The blue unicorn sucked up her courage, tilted her head down, and concentrated as hard as she could. She lit up her horn, and the blue ribbon of light flew out of it, creating a magic carpet of some kind. She climbed on, followed by Tara, Camille, and the Moochick.

"So once we get up there, what do we do?" Tara asked.

"Find the Rainbow of Darkness," Camille said. "And destroy it."

"How do we destroy it?" Fleur-Di-Lis asked.

"I think the Moochick is the right person for that job," Camille replied. "You have magic, right?"

"Indeed, yes, yes," The Moochick said. "But the Rainbow of Darkness is very powerful. I'm not sure if my magic alone can defeat it."

"Well, we have to try," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "We can't let Claudius down."

The others agreed to that. Fleur-Di-Lis gulped.

"I hope we can do this," she said.

Fleur-Di-Lis gulped again, and started leading the way towards Enchantra's throne room.

"There it is," Camille said, pointing to a table. There was a bag, pulsating. The group could hear a heart beat from inside it.

"Oooh creepy!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted.

"Well we got it," Tara said. "Now what do we do with it?"

"Should be simple enough," the Moochick said. "Now then, ahh, hmm, let me see. What do we do with it?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Enchantra shouted with an evil laugh. "I can't be_lieve_ you came all the way over here without Nelson! Oh you all are fools!"

"Where are my unicorn friends?!" Fleur-Di-Lis demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Enchantra asked, picking up her Rainbow of Darkness. "Very soon, you'll find out. You'll be part of my collection."

"Collection?"

"Why of course, dearie!"

"I don't like the way this is looking," Tara said.

Enchantra smiled sneakily and started to open her pouch. A dark, purplish-red rainbow flew out of it and headed for Fleur-Di-Lis. Fleur-Di-Lis took a deep breath and lit up her horn. A blue light flew out of it, and burned Enchantra's eyes.

"Aaaaahhhh!" the sorceress screamed. "I can't see!"

"Everyone run!" Tara shouted.

The foursome took off like a shot to the roof. Enchantra couldn't follow them. She was temporarily blinded by the light.

"Oooohhh!" she growled. "I'll get you yet! Just you wait!"

Tara, Camille, Fleur-Di-Lis and the Moochick ran to the roof, and caught their breaths.

"I think we lost her," Camille said.

"But not for long," The Moochick said. "She'll be coming for us soon."

"We'd better find those unicorns and fast," Tara said.

"I know where they are," Fleur-Di-Lis said, looking over the edge of the ceiling at the moat surrounding Midnight Castle.

"You do?" Camille asked.

"Where are they?" Tara asked.

"In the sea," Fleur-Di-Lis replied.

"The sea?" the Moochick asked, quite confused. "How could they be in there?"

"Believe me," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "They're in the sea."

"Well, if they got in," Tara said. "There should be a way to get them out."

"The question is how," Camille said. "This might be a job for Claudius."

"Why don't you try, Mr. Moochick?" Fleur-Di-Lis suggested. "I know you can do it!"

"Hmm, I just might be able to," the Moochick said. "Yes, yes, I think I can. Quite possibly I can, yes."

"Then do it," Tara said. "We don't have all day to hang around here!"

The Moochick rolled up his sleeves and wiggled his fingers. The seas began to churn. Suddenly, they split open just like in The Ten Commandments. From the waters emerged thousands and thousands of colorful little ponies. Some were earth ponies, some were unicorns, and some were flying Pegasus ponies.

"My friends!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted, happily. A pink unicorn with blue hair, wearing golden horseshoes winked up to the castle roof.

"Fleur-Di-Lis, what's going on?" she asked.

"I'll explain later, Parodist," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "I need every last unicorn to come up here!"

All the unicorns closed their eyes, and winked up to the tower. All the other ponies gathered around as well. Once they were all there, the ground began to shake. Everyone lost their balance and crash landed.

"What's going on?" a baby pony asked.

The wall behind the group blew open and Enchantra came flying out, in a chariot being pulled by the Strattadons. She was carrying the Rainbow of Darkness.

"I'm glad you're all here," she said, as she prepared to open the pouch. "Now you can all see me take over the world, and bring in the night that never ends!"

"I'll get her!" a pink Pegasus pony called out. She flew into the air, and knocked the pouch right out of Enchantra's hand.

"No!" she shouted.

A blue earth pony jumped into the air and caught the pouch. Enchantra swooped down to grab it, but she threw it to a pink unicorn. It was a game of monkey in the middle. Enchantra wasn't too happy with playing this game. Finally, Enchantra managed to grab the Rainbow of Darkness back.

"Why you stupid little so and so's!" she shouted. "I'll turn you all into dragons for this!"

"Unicorns!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted. "Light up your horns! She can't stand light!"

All the unicorns looked at each other, closed their eyes, and concentrated as hard as they could. All their horns lit up, and ribbons of colored light flew out of them.

"Everyone stand back," the Moochick warned. "This is powerful magic. The most powerful kind of magic there is."

Tara, Camille, and the rest of the little ponies stood back. The colored ribbons swirled together all of a sudden. Then six of the colors formed one large ribbon. It was pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

"What in the world?" Tara asked.

"They made a rainbow," the Moochick said. "A Rainbow of Light to counteract the Rainbow of Darkness!"

"You think a rainbow's going to defeat me?!" Enchantra shouted. "It is to laugh! Behold the power of Darkness!"

Enchantra opened her pouch, and the Rainbow of Darkness flew out of it. It shrunk the rainbow down to size a bit, and surrounded it.

"The rainbow's gone!" one of the earth ponies shouted.

"We're doomed!" Camille shouted.

"No!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted. "I've come too far to quit now!"

Fleur-Di-Lis took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as she could. A bright, white light shot out of her horn and surrounded the Rainbow of Darkness. The Rainbow of Light came shining through, and took over the purplish-black rainbow.

"Oh no," Enchantra said.

The Rainbow of Light then surrounded Enchantra and her chariot. The chariot blew to pieces, and the Rainbow of Darkness practically exploded. Enchantra crash landed onto the roof, disoriented. She sat up, powerless.

"Ouch," she said. "You . . . . you destroyed my power!"

"That's right," Fleur-Di-Lis said. "Leave this land, and never return!"

"I'll be back for you," Enchantra said. "All of you! You haven't heard the last of me!"

Enchantra climbed on top of a Strattadon, and flew away, never to be heard from again. At least until she restored her power, but who knew how long that was going to take?

The Rainbow of Light swirled around Midnight Castle. It began to transform into a lush land filled with green trees and flowers. In the distance, a large pink castle appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Fleur-Di-Lis shouted. "No wonder Claudius calls it Dream Valley."

All the little ponies cheered and jumped around. There were so many little ponies around, romping through the fields, and around the castle.

"This place should be called Ponyland," Tara commented. "Look at all the ponies!"

"And if the little ponies are going to be living in a castle," Camille said, taking off her tiara. "It should have a queen."

Everyone seemed to agree on that, and they all looked over at Fleur-Di-Lis.

"I hereby crown you, Fleur-Di-Lis, Queen of all Ponyland," Camille said, putting her tiara on the blue unicorn's head.

"Oh," Fleur-Di-Lis gasped. "Me, the queen! Oh! Thank you! Thank you all so much!"

"Not only do I proclaim you queen," Camille said. "I also proclaim you keeper of the Rainbow of Light."

Camille opened her heart shaped locket, and the rainbow the unicorns had made flew into it. Camille closed it, and put it around Fleur-Di-Lis's neck. All the little ponies bowed down to her, as did Camille and Tara. Fleur-Di-Lis smiled and looked down. She reared and let out a whinny of joy.

The End


End file.
